Trendy drink loved by Kourtney Kardashian and Halle Berry ‘blasts fat stores and mimics fasting’
KNOCKING back kombucha could help you lose weight without needing to change your diet, a study shows.
The trendy drink - which can cost as little as £1.25 a can - works by mimicking the fat-shedding effects of fasting, US researchers found.
Good bacteria in the drink loved by celebs like Kourtney Kardashian could hold the key to weight loss without trying, they suggested.
Dr Robert Dowen from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said the experts were "surprised" to discover the tea's positive effects.
"The microbes in Kombucha Tea trigger a 'fasting-like' state in the host even in the presence of sufficient nutrients," he explained.
More than one in five Brits are thought to be obese, which is known to increase the risk of several health issues like type 2 diabetes and strokes.
The NHS says some genes are linked to obesity, but it is mostly caused by eating junk food and not exercising enough.
Previous research in labs and rats, as well as a small study on humans, showed kombucha may hold promise in reducing blood sugar levels.
The latest study, published in PLoS Genetics, tested how microbes from kombucha tea affect the metabolism of worms.
Metabolism refers to the chemical processes that take place as your body converts foods and drinks into energy and stores any surplus energy as fat.
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Your metabolism is affected by many things – including diet, exercise and your hormones.
The scientists found the bacteria from kombucha make the metabolism work in a similar way to how it does during a fast.
Fasting, especially intermittent fasting, focuses more on when you eat rather than what you eat.
Countless studies have found that diets can help with fat loss as they trigger the body's autophagy process, which allows the body to break down and remove unnecessary cells.
They also found microbes in the tea alter the expression of genes involved in fat metabolism.
This leads to an increase in proteins that break down fats and fewer proteins that build a type of fat molecule called triglycerides.
Together, these two changes reduce fat stores in the worms.
The authors did not specify how much drink someone would need to consume to experience the weight-shedding effects.
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However, they did say the research could help "inform" the use of the drink as a weight loss aid in the "future".
They wrote: "These findings are consistent with the reported human health benefits of Kombucha Tea and provide new insights into the host response to Kombucha-associated microbes, which could inform the use of Kombucha in complementary health care approaches in the future."
What is kombucha?
Kombucha is a fermented drink.
It is made from sweetened tea and a specific culture known as a scoby, which stands for "symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts".
The bacteria and yeasts convert the sugar into ethanol and acetic acid.
The acetic acid is what gives kombucha its distinctive sour taste.
What are the health benefits?
Fermented foods such as yogurts and kefir all contain live micro-organisms.
As kombucha is the product of fermentation, several probiotic microbes are produced.
At specific concentrations, these probiotic bacteria can help to balance levels of bacteria in the gut and improve digestion.
However, to date, there have not been enough studies to confirm whether kombucha contains enough beneficial bacteria to be considered an effective probiotic.
Animal studies suggest consuming kombucha may improve cholesterol management and, in conjunction with the protective polyphenols in tea, especially green tea, may reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
The drink could be a good source of antioxidants, which protect the body from the oxidative damage caused by free radicals.
Free radicals are a normal by-product of processes in the body, but the key is to minimise their impact by consuming food and drinks rich in antioxidants.
Kombucha contains small amounts of vitamins and minerals which are produced when the yeast breaks down the sugars, including vitamin C and the B group of vitamins such as B1, B6 and B12.
How to make it
Ingredients
- Sugar
- Cold filtered water
- Black/green tea (bags or loose leaf)
- Scoby – purchased online, or from an existing batch of kombucha
Method
To make kombucha, the tea and sugar is steeped in boiled water and left to cool before adding the scoby.
This is covered and left to ferment for up to a week.
The mixture is then poured into an airtight container with some extra sugar and left for a few more days.
The longer it is left, the fizzier it will become.
You can also add fruit for flavouring.